Notes on "Bonaparte II"
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After extensive playtesting, this scenario is now finally in its full release version. 

Any errors, ommissions or inadequacies that remain are mine alone. If I've forgotten your contribution, please forgive me. The Fundamentals section below is basically the same as for Bonaparte I, as this hasn't changed. The updates section is the new stuff for version II. One fundamental that HAS changed, is that the game is now 75 two-month turns, rather than 147 one-month ones. It's quite possible you might finish it now in less than three evenings' play!

Fundamentals
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Basically, this is an out-and-out wargame. In Bonaparte II there are, however, both settlers and engineers (labourers and farmers). As there are already 255 cities, you can't found new ones unless some old ones are destroyed.

The game starts in May 1803, when Revolutionary France declared war on England and brought the Peace of Amiens to a sudden end. England and France will never make peace. (Even when the diplomats report that they have done!) Spain and France are allied, and if both are played by the AI they will normally stay that way. (There is an event that might cause them to go to war, but it won't happen every game). All other diplomatic possibilities are open.

It ends in July 1815, just after the historical Battle of Waterloo that finally finished Napoleon. I could have chosen March 1821, when he died, but the scenario is fairly lengthy as it is. At 75 turns, it's not too bad though. If you want to play on, the scenario will let you, but the scores are frozen. Scoring is laid out in the intro screen, and it repeated at the foot of these notes. Remember, the cities with brackets after their names (like London (10)) are worth the number of Victory Points in the brackets. Ignore the in-game score page (F9).

I've tried to make this as historically accurate as possible, given the limited number of troop types and the one-month game turns. The infantry units represent an active-service regiment (In the case of the British, an overseas-service brigade) of about 2000 men each; the cavalry, a regiment of 500 men+horses; and the artillery, 2-3 batteries totalling 18-20 pieces. At those scales, the starting strengths of the armies are about right, historically.

The troop values "feel right" to me, but I'm open to comment.

The main thing to note at this stage, and it's really vital, is that  EVERY land square, with the exceptions of Desert, Mountain, Northern Forest and Marsh, contains a fortress. You can't see them, but they're there! You'll see the terrain marked "STACKABLE" instead. This allows armies to stack units together without risking losing them all to one attack. Similarly, most sea squares have "Ocean Fortesses" that enable naval units to stack. Be careful, though. I didn't have the time or patience to do all sea squares, and the area around Iceland and north of Bodo in Norway is not done. All the rest (including all the Med and the Baltic) is, though.

The unit attack and defence values compensate for this and overall, the best form of defence is attack. However, proper Napoleonic concentration of force finally pays off, and not all conflicts lead to one side or the other being wiped out in move one. You'll find it really pays to group units of different types together, to get the best out of each.

Army Tactics
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Which brings me to how to fight these units. The Musketeer types are cheap, and best for defence. Prussia and Austria develop Landwehr which are even cheaper and good for cheap defense or mass attacks.

The Grenadiers types are better, and also good for attack. They are 80-100% more expensive than Musketeers. Even better for attack are the Heavy Cavalry (Cuirassiers, Dragoon Guards, Kurassiers). They are more mobile, but they are expensive. They are also very much less effective in attacking cities, so save them for battles in the open field.

French Line and Light infantry were basically the same, and were trained the same way. However the light is able to ignore Zones of Control, which definitely helps the French AI mount attacks. All French infantry is good in attack, reasonable in defence, and can make Marine assaults. To represent the Leve en Masse, they are also quite cheap to build.

Artillery is even better in attack, especially against cities, but Horse Artillery is as expensive as heavy cavalry and less manoevreable, and Foot Artillery (including Howitzers) is very slow to deploy. When attacking cities with modern Fortresses, Howizers or 12pdrs should be used to breach the ramparts if you want to prevent a massacre of your assault troops. Take your time and set up a proper seige.

Light Cavalry (Hussars, Light Dragoons, Chasseurs a Cheval) may seem of limited value at first. They are quite pricy (although not as bad as the Heavies) and have lowish attack values. Their (immense) value lies in scouting and screening.

They ignore Zones of Control, so can slip through enemy lines. They see 2 squares, so with their move of 4 can check out quite an area, spot enemy attacks coming and return to their lines in one move, especially on roads. If raiding, they can cause havoc to unprotected artillery and convoys behind enemy lines.

Because they ignore ZOC, and units can always move into a square occupied by another friendly unit, they can screen the penetration of stacks of their own infantry-artillery-heavy cav around blocking enemy fortresses/cities. This is a crucial tactic and you should never let yourself run out of light cavalry when on the offensive.

Dragoons are a sort of compromise between heavy and light cavalry. They move like heavies but have better hitting power than light. They can move across ZOC like light, and they also see 2. Good all-rounders.

Lanciers and Uhlans appear later in the scenario for most nations. Light Cavalry with an extra hitting force (but fragile if they loose a round of combat). Austria has them to start.

Of course, most nations have a few excellent Guard units, both infantry and cavalry, which cannot be built, but are raised automatically from time-to-time. But rarely, so look after them!

In conclusion - concentrate your forces (except in bad terrain without adequate forage for a large force, such as mountains, northern forests and marshes).

Naval Tactics
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Ships can now be stacked in all squares marked "STACKABLE". This is most of them now. But be aware that sometimes the AI pillages one, although it shouldn't be able to happen. Usually occurs just outside a port that's been blockaded for a long time. A similar thing sometimes happens to land squares outside fortresses.

The ships fall into three categories:

Transport: East Indiamen, Transports and Invasion Barges, are for moving units by sea. Indiamen and Transports can carry 1, Barges 2. Barges are Coastal and can only move 2. Useful for invading Britain, they are raised automatically by events, for the French only. East Indiamen are fast and well defended transports - almost warships.

Scouting and Commerce Raiding: Brigs and Frigates. The Frigates can see 2. 

Line of Battle: Two- and Three-Deckers. Close-range sluggers. Not super-quick, but very tough.

Later, Advanced Naval Architecture allows Heavy Frigates which are Frigates powerful enough to stand up to Line-of-Battleships.

Finally, Bomb Ketches. These are designed for bombarding the land, and for some nations are the only unit that can attack the land from the sea. They should be protected by other ships, however, as even a Brig will usually beat them.

The Nations
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A few quick comments. The VP targets are now based on your starting total. Get 150% for a marginal win, 200% for a decisive one. Of course, as France, I don't feel I've won unless I have taken Vienna, Berlin and either London or Moscow!

The French
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The protagonists of the scenario. Biggest army, second-highest VP total to achieve. Their Government form is basically Communism - not so far from the ideals of the Revolution! They get more free support for units (6) than the Monarchies (4) so can build the large army they are going to need. Army quality good: Infantry/cavalry about 50% veteran to start with, their famous artillery 100% veteran. (Boney was a gunner, so no wonder).

Navy good (40% veteran). Second best overall, but awkwardly split between the Med and the Channel.

Try to keep your alliance with the Spanish. They have a goodish navy and together you can hope to take on the Royal Navy. 

The British
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Small army, even with the Portuguese and Hannoverians. Their Government form is basically Republic, so the folks at home will get restless at too many units outside a 3 square radius of a friendly city. Remember, most squares have fortresses so your units don't have to stay in cities. You can build Prisons to help you with domestic unrest, or the War Patriotism wonder. Be aware though, that this wonder may become obsolete suddenly!.

Very rich (bribe others to be allies?), and with good science. However, periodically the event engine will drain your treasury with subsidies made to the enemies of Napoleon, so don't let your treasury fall below about 1,000 gold. Nearer the Industrial Revolution than the others. Army units are very expensive to build (The English had no conscription until the First World War), but they are rather good. OK, I'm biased, but they did well historically. 

Use your outstanding navy (100% veteran) to keep the French at bay to begin with, and you have time to build up a reasonable army. Each unit costs 1 shield to support, though. Expansion is a problem. Spain and Norway/Sweden are the obvious routes to begin with. Then it just has to be France. The highest VP target, and a scattered Empire that it is not easy to defend.

The Austrians
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Napoleon's main continental opposition, in the real world. This time, it's up to your diplomacy. Below average infantry (although good Grenadiers), outstanding cavalry and under-developed artillery. Tiny Navy. Good room for expansion to the south and west. Maybe even Turkey. You have to keep the Russians, French and Prussians sweet (most of the time) to allow your troops to move into the Balkans. Keeping the French at bay will not be easy, especially in Italy!

You have a few Horse Artillery units, but can build no more until you get the appropriate tech. You have no Imperial Guard.

Something of an initial cash flow problem. Build Traders and Banks. Moderate VP target.

The Prussians
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Surrounded by potential enemies! Probably the hardest to play well without exceptional diplomacy. Flatter everyone and build up your army. Forget naval power. Low VP target, and no wonder. Strangely, the computer always seems to do quite well when playing the Prussians, although they always get involved in a war of attrition against the Russians that they eventually start to lose.

You have a few Uhlans units, but can build no more until you get the appropriate tech.

The Russians
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Handicapped by their Government form (Despotism), science is a struggle and cash is always a problem. Should be played at Colonel, or at the most, General level. Your large number of cities allows you to build hordes of troops, though, especially the cheaper sort (due to your low productivity) so bully your tech out of your weaker neigbours. Easy expension to the south, but the vast distances and terrible road system make it difficult to switch your armies about. Maybe worth making a bid for naval supremacy in the Black Sea or the Baltic, but probably not both at once. High VP target, but you start off with a high score, and a large if scattered army.

You have a few Uhlans units, but can build no more until you get the appropriate tech.

The Swedish
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Smallish, but good, army. Moderately sized and high quality navy. Lots of opportunity to expand in Scandinavia and a good defensive position at home. Look out for the Russians, who are your main rivals in the area.
Low VP target.

The Spanish
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Good sized, if rather inexperienced, navy. Terrible army. The worst. Still, your artillery is as good as the others' and you don't have many rivals, especially if you can keep the French on your side. Moderate-to-Low VP target, and all of North Africa, Sicily and perhaps Portugal to invade. Not a bad bet, really.

You have a few Horse Artillery units, but can build no more until you get the appropriate tech.
 
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Like my other scenarios, units become veteran in the fires of battle. No Barracks or Port Facilities. The standard infantry move is 2. Roads multiply this by 2, not 3.

Note that some casualties were incurred setting up the scenario. I have included a StartingCasualties.jpg file so you can work out who has lost what in the actual game.

If any designer/hackers out there want the base save game from which I spun off the scenario file, so that you can change the map, the tech speed, the unit positions or city names etc, just email me as below and I will send it to you.
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OK. That's it for now. Mail me at netdesign@zoom.co.uk with any feedback you may have. I'll still be interested to hear coments. The ones I had for the various versions of "Colonies" were very useful and I shall be using them to make a better version in 4.0, I hope.

John

Summer 2002
Sussex, England